10 Weird War Movie Sequels You Forgot About

Make a sequel for a War movie is a difficult thing to do, as is proven by the countless amounts of strange ideas for follow-ups to classic militarist films over the years. The best war movies give an in-depth look at the true horrors of war and also with exciting action. Historical accuracy doesn’t hurt either, although it’s not strictly required to generate a strong narrative depicting the terrors of combat. However, it can be difficult to capitalize on the success of a war movie for various reasons.

A large part of the difficulty that comes with generating ideas for a war movie sequel is the adherence to real-life conflicts, which have predetermined endings. It can be difficult to find excuses to revive a recognizable war movie IP while staying true to actual history, putting the follow-up to war films in a tough spot. While the odd box office success like Top Gun: Maverick Leave a lot of room for exceptions, by and large, sequels to war movies have a hard time working.

10

The Jarhead sequels

Today’s military biopic has quickly lost its touch

The original Jarhead was a stunning interpretation of war as filtered through a modern lens, based on the memoir of a real-life US soldier. it. Marine as portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal. Describing the harrowing events of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield, Jarhead Taking an interesting approach to its realistic depiction of combat, how Marines fight off the border just like enemy insurgents. One of Jake Gyllenhaal’s best movies, Jarhead was a thoughtful and honest look at the dangers of soldiers.

The handful of sequels, especially Jarhead 2: Field of Fire And Jarhead 3: The Siege, Fell to the temptation to transform the realistic war drama into a brainless action fire fest. Jarhead 2: Field of Fire At least made some decent attempts to keep the original themes through her obviously inferior writing.

But in the time of Jarhead 3: The Siege, The series was full Rambo, With the third entry is an almost one-to-one ripoff of Micheal Bay’s 13 hours: The secret soldiers of Benghazi.

9

The sequels of the behind enemy lines

From stunning historical accuracy to brainless fantasy

Behind enemy lines It doesn’t seem like a story that could ever lend itself to a sequel, and those who eventually revealed definitively proved why. The original film starred the talents of Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson as they (true to the title) survived behind enemy lines after their plane was shot down. Loosely based on the real-life 1995 Mrkonjić Grad incident, this harrowing tale of lonely survival in enemy territory feels a lot like a recreation of a genuine military operation.

Unfortunately, the direct-to-video sequels that would follow discarded any pretense of realism or commitment to historical accuracy. Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of EvilDespite the World War II title, a fictional Navy SEAL expedition splits into North Korea to sabotage a nuclear missile launch site. Behind the enemies: Colombia brought the SEALs back to fight Colombian special forces (rather than actual US enemies), and Behind the enemy: SEAL Team 8 Sent them on a hunt for uranium in the jungles of the Congo.

8

The sniper sequels

Slowly lost the plot of the original film

The original Sniper May not have been one of the most realistic movie depictions of combat, but nonetheless worked as an exciting action film with an emphasis on realistic marksmanship. The odd-couple buddy war movie saw a grizzled Marine sniper pair with an untested, but talented civilian sharpshooter on a two-man assassination mission deep in the hostile Panamanian desert. The film inspired a litany of direct-to-video sequels, which gradually lost more and more of the influence of the first film until the concept of sniping was all that remained.

The dizzy watch order of the Sniper Sequels is completely impenetrable to the outside observer, with an intimidating ten total films squeezing every last drop of potential from the premise of ​​a sniper-spotter team. The often rotating cast of characters saw the exit, return and spiritual succession of Tom Berenger’s Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett, which was a confusing overarching narrative. The most confusing of the horde of follow-ups is Sniper: Rogue Mission, which officially passed the torch from the old cast while introducing an unwelcome tonal shift to action comedy.

7

300: Rise of an Empire

Lost both historical accuracy and style

It is important to include ancient history war movies within the larger umbrella of military action, with the more historical epics being some of the best entries in the genre. Zack Snyder 300 was a particularly beloved tale of camaraderie in the face of insurmountable odds, albeit with a supernatural twist on the very real battle of antiquity it takes precedent from. However, as if the film was parodied in the spoof movie Meet the Spartans Is not enough, its own official sequel still eroded the goodwill of the franchise.

If the original 300 Just played with historical events, 300: Rise of an Empire had an outward contempt for them, solemnly depicted the second Persian invasion. The fictionalized presence of xerxes at the battle of marathon and the exaggerated power of spartan’s naval fleet the fictionalized presence of xerxes at the battle of marathon and the exaggerated power of sparta’s naval fleet even warmed the real significance of sparta in the war . More deeply. Worse than the historical revisionism was the lack of Snyder’s signature style, with action scenes that could only wear a pale imitation.

6

Rambo III

Bet a little too high on temporary US it. Allies

Long before Jarhead Did the same thing, the Rambo series struck audiences with tonal whiplash, from thoughtful dissection of PTSD and criticism of the Vietnam War in First blood to flagrant revisionism and machismo fantasy in Rambo: First Blood Part II. While the second film at least created much of the iconic imagery that Rambo is known for, the third installment descended further into awkward hyper-nationalism without the modern charm.

sad, Rambo III Modernized John Rambo’s heroism by throwing him into the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, in which he helped the real-life mujahideen rebels take on the imposing army of the USSR. The Mujahideen would go on to become the Taliban, one of the US’s most bitter modern enemies. Because of his literal dedication to the future terrorist force in the credits, Rambo III is easily one of the most poorly-aged 80s action movies.

5

Robert the Bruce

Drastically shifted Braveheart’s tone and focus

A highly revered war movie that won the Academy Award for Best Picture the year of its release, Mel Gibson’s Brave People still remember it to this day. Depicting the real-life story of the Scottish Independence leader and warrior, Brave was at once disturbingly violent and hopefully romantic, crafting a uniquely modern take on Hollywood’s classic historical epic. With such a high profile, the legacy sequel is a shock Robert the Bruce People don’t talk anymore.

The relative obscurity of Robert the Bruce Can be chalked up to being much tighter scope of drama. rather than a sweeping tale of bravery on the battlefield and bravery in the face of tyrannyThe film was a much more personal story that depicted Robert’s relationship with a single farming family, and how his interactions with them helped shape his psyche during his reign of Scotland. Because of the dramatic shift in focus, change in protagonist, boring story and slow pace, Robert the Bruce Flew under the radar.

4

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

Double down on ripping off the hard

Even if the original Under siege Is not based on true events, it still manages to make a tight and engaging war story. In the claustrophobic confines of a boat, the film centers on a demoted Navy SEAL, played by Steven Seagal, working as a cook in the galley of a nuclear-armed battleship. Segal’s Casey Ryback springs into action when the ship is taken hostage by terrorists, who attempt to auction its nuclear arsenal off to North Korea.

If the first Under siege Flirts with the idea of ​​being more-or-less a rip-off of Die Hard, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory completely absorbed in its clear cinematic effects. This time, Ryback is basically put in the exact same situation, only with the vehicle in danger being a train instead of a boat. Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Managed to still crack the top ten of Seagal’s best critically received films, but became far too obvious with its inspiration, even including a Hans Gruber-esque mastermind villain.

3

The Dirty Dozen Sequels

Quickly lost the edge of the first film

An incredibly inspirational action film that can be cited among the influences for countless ensemble movies since, 1967’s The Dirty Dozen was a revolutionary take on a fun military flick. Taking place during World War II, the film describes a motley crew of 12 convict soldiers who are tasked with an impossible mission that they are not expected to survive. Loosely based on the escapades of an actual US Army assault unit in World War II, the “Screaming Eagles,” The Dirty Dozen Combined historical fiction with fantastic action fantasies.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the coterie of direct-to-television sequels that followed failed to gain the same mythical reputation as their predecessor film. Because of the stricter censorship policies for television, the sequels could never descend to the same absurd depths of violence that the original could, taking away a large part of the series’ appeal. By the third film, the titular Dirty Dozen has been completely replaced with a new team, disappointingly without the same endearing personalities that made the first film so enjoyable.

2

Strike Commando 2

Expanded the original appetite for imitation

The original Hit Commando was assuredly derivative of the Rambo movies, but nevertheless managed to interject its own low-budget charm into the expected premise of jungle-bound action spectacle amid the Vietnam War. Directed by Italian filmmaker Brune Mattei, also known for Ripping Off Jaws With this movie cruelty, The film centers around a Rambo look-alike, Sergeant Michael Ransom, who must survive deep behind enemy lines without support after a mission gone wrong. Despite its apparent imitation, Hit Commando Offered his own creativity when it came to explosive setups.

unfortunately, The same cannot be said for the sequel, Strike Commando 2. Since the original is already largely obscure, the follow-up is even less well-known. This is perhaps for the best, considering that Strike Commando 2 Rips off Rambo even more blatantly while also featuring sequences lifted straight out Predator And Lethal weapon. Confusingly, the film was able to somehow acquire the talents of Richard Harris in the cast, making for an even more strange experience.

1

The Delta Force sequels

Can’t recapture the same Chuck Norris magic

One of the great Chuck Norris’ more militaristic outings instead of his typical martial arts tendencies, The Delta Force was one of the more recognizable films of the star. The film featured Norris as Major Scott McCoy, the leader of the real-life Delta Force special ops unit, who is tasked with stopping a commercial flight hijacked by two dangerous terrorists. Bleeding patriotism and American jealousy, the film is still a fun watch for its creative shootouts and tense moments.

The same cannot be said for the two officials Delta Force sequels, Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection And Delta Force 3: The Killing Game. Whereas the former confusingly pivoted to the war on drugs while lifting large segments from the previous Norris flick missing in action, The last attempt to pass the torch to Chuck’s son, Mike Norris, to underwhelming results. Let down fans of the original twice, it’s no wonder Delta Force Sequels continue to close in War movie Obscurity.